The Star Wars Holiday Special is an American television special originally broadcast by CBS on November 17, 1978. It is set in the universe of the sci-fi-based Star Wars media franchise. Directed by Steve Binder, it was the first Star Wars spin-off film, set between the events of the original film and the yet-to-be-released sequel The Empire Strikes Back (1980). It stars the main cast of the original Star Wars and introduces the character of Boba Fett, who appeared in later films.
In the storyline that ties the special together, following the events of the original film, Chewbacca and Han Solo attempt to visit the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk to celebrate "Life Day". They are pursued by agents of the Galactic Empire, who are searching for members of the Rebel Alliance on the planet. The special introduces three members of Chewbacca's family: his father Itchy, his wife Malla, and his son Lumpy.
The program also features the rest of the main Star Wars characters, including Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, R2-D2, Darth Vader and Princess Leia, all portrayed by the original cast (except , who is simply billed as "himself"). The program includes footage from the 1977 film and a cartoon produced by Toronto-based Nelvana featuring the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Scenes take place in space and in spacecraft including the Millennium Falcon and a Star Destroyer; segments also take place in a few other locales such as the Mos Eisley cantina from the original film.
The special was widely panned and has never been rebroadcast nor officially released on home video in any format in its entirety (save for its more favorably-received cartoon segment). It has become a cult classic due to the underground quality of its existence, and it has been viewed and distributed in off-air recordings of the original 1978 CBS television broadcast by fans as bootleg copies, and uploaded to content-sharing websites.
Plot On Life Day, Chewbacca, accompanied by Han Solo, is headed home to see his family. Along the way, the duo is chased by two Star Destroyers, but they escape into hyperspace. Meanwhile, on Kashyyyk, Chewbacca's family is preparing for his return. Hoping to find the Millennium Falcon, his wife, Malla, runs a computer scan for starships in the area but is unsuccessful.
Malla contacts Luke Skywalker, who, along with R2-D2, is working on his X-wing fighter. Luke tells her that he does not know what happened. Malla contacts local trader Saun Dann, telling her through a carefully worded message that Han and Chewbacca are on their way and should be arriving soon. Malla then attempts (unsuccessfully) to prepare a meal, the instructions of which are being aired via a local cooking show by an eccentric four-armed alien cook, Chef Gormaanda.
Saun arrives with Life Day gifts for everyone, including a virtual reality fantasy program (featuring Diahann Carroll) for Itchy. Back on the Falcon, Chewbacca and Han have just come out of hyperspace not far from Kashyyyk. Han notices an increased Imperial presence, so they decide to land in an unguarded area to the north.
As they enter the atmosphere, Lumpy hears the roaring of the ship. Believing Han and Chewie might be arriving, Malla opens the door, but instead finds two stormtroopers and officers. The Imperials force their way into the house. An officer orders a search for Chewbacca.
As they search, Saun and the others attempt to distract them with food and Malla's music video box (which features a video by Jefferson Starship). When the music finishes, the head officer orders the search to continue. The head officer tells Malla to keep Lumpy busy while they search his room, so Lumpy (and the viewing audience) uses a viewscreen to watch a cartoon of one of his father's many adventures:
During a search for a talisman, the Millennium Falcon crashes on the water moon of Panna with Han and Chewie onboard. Luke and the droids, who have followed the Falcon in a Y-wing, encounter Boba Fett, who saves Luke from a giant monster and claims to want to help the Rebels. They all board the Falcon, where they discover Han has been infected by a mysterious sleeping virus caused by the talisman. Luke contracts the virus as well and is rendered unconscious. Fett and Chewie travel to the Imperial-occupied Panna City to get the cure, but when they arrive, Fett instructs Chewie to stay behind—so he can contact Darth Vader. On the Falcon, as C-3PO is caring for Han and Luke, R2-D2 intercepts the transmission between Vader and Fett. Evading the Imperials, Fett and Chewie return to the Falcon with the cure. After everyone recovers from the virus, the droids inform Han and Luke of Fett's true allegiance. Fett holds them at gunpoint before flying away using his jetpack, promising they will meet again. The heroes take off and return to the Rebel base aboard the Falcon.
Lumpy works to create a translation device that will fool the Imperials into returning to their base by faking their commander's voice. To do so, he first must watch the manual for the device, being presented by a malfunctioning, incompetent robot. While the Imperials are searching downstairs, the living room viewscreen activates, announcing that Tatooine is being put under curfew by the Empire because of "subversive forces".
The video is announced as required viewing for all Imperial forces and much of it features Ackmena running the Mos Eisley cantina. Ackmena is approached by an admirer: Krelman, an amorous alien, who has misunderstood something she said to him recently. Ackmena announces last call, and upon being ignored, sings a farewell song.
Lumpy uses this opportunity to put his plan into motion, faking a repeated call for the Imperials to "return to base". They leave, but one stormtrooper stays behind and discovers Lumpy's ruse. He destroys the machine, then chases Lumpy outside, just as Han and Chewbacca finally arrive. Chewie protects Lumpy as Han kills the stormtrooper by tricking him into falling over the railing.
After the family are reunited, an Imperial officer appears on the viewscreen, giving a general alert for the missing stormtrooper. Saun quickly responds that the trooper stole supplies and deserted. The danger averted, the family prepares to go to the festival at the great Tree of Life. They hold glowing orbs, and appear in space wearing red robes.
Wookiees walk into a bright star and arrive at the Tree of Life, where many are gathered, including C-3PO and R2-D2. Luke, Leia, and Han also appear. Leia gives a short speech and sings a song in celebration. Chewie remembers his adventures during the events of the original film. Finally, the Wookiee family sits around a table and bow their heads.
Cast Mark Hamill as Luke SkywalkerThe Star Wars Holiday Special, original CBS airing, November 17, 1978. Steve Binder, George Lucas. Harrison Ford as Han Solo Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Anthony Daniels as C-3PO Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca James Earl Jones as Darth Vader (voice) Beatrice Arthur as Ackmena Art Carney as Trader Saun Dann Diahann Carroll as Mermeia Holographic Jefferson Starship (Marty Balin, Craig Chaquico, Paul Kantner, David Freiberg, Pete Sears, John Barbata) as holographic band Harvey Korman as Krelman / Chef Gormaanda / Amorphian instructor Mickey Morton as Malla / Tork (uncredited) / Chef Gormaanda's second pair of arms (uncredited) Paul Gale as Itchy Patty Maloney as Lumpy Jack Rader as Imperial Guard Officer Stephanie Stromer Michael Potter as Imperial Guard The Wazzan Troupe Yuichi Sugiyama as the "Ring-Master" The Mum Brothers Claude Woolman as Imperial Officer Lev Mailer as Imperial Guard John McLaughlin David Prowse (archive footage) as Darth Vader (uncredited) Alec Guinness (archive footage) as Obi-Wan Kenobi (uncredited) Leslie Schofield (archive footage) as Imperial Officer (uncredited) Marcus Powell (archive footage) as Rycar Ryjerd (uncredited)
Kenny Baker, who played in the films, was not involved in the special. The droid was performed entirely by a radio-controlled unit, operated by Mick Garris (Lucas's receptionist). In the credits, R2-D2 is credited by announcer Art James as playing himself.
Because James Earl Jones was originally uncredited in Star Wars, the special marked the first time he was credited as the voice of Darth Vader.
Malla's mask was repurposed from a Chewbacca mask from the original film. The names of Chewbacca's family were later explained to have been nicknames, their full names being Mallatobuck (Malla), Attichitcuk (Itchy), and Lumpawarrump or Lumpawaroo (Lumpy).
Production While outlining the original Star Wars and planning its potential sequels, Lucas imagined a "film just about Wookiees, nothing else."Steranko, "George Lucas", Prevue #42, September–October 1980. After the original film's success, its cast made a few appearances on TV variety shows. According to Charles Lippincott, who was head of marketing of the Star Wars Corporation, CBS brought the idea of doing a TV special to him and Lucas, although there is some internal dispute about this claim. According to J.W. Rinzler, "Everybody agreed that a television special was a good idea." Lucas was busy moving his production company, which was not heavily involved in the special, to a new location. According to Lucasfilm producer Gary Kurtz:
Though Lucas is uncredited, it was his idea to build the narrative around Chewbacca's family. CBS hired experienced variety show writers and producers, including writer Bruce Vilanch, who was concerned about the decision to center the special on a species who grunt in a fictional language without subtitles. Regardless, Lucas would not budge on his vision. The special went through two directors. The first, David Acomba, was brought in through an attempt to "make us different in variety shows", according to Lippincott.
Acomba, a classmate of George Lucas at USC film school, was unfamiliar with a multiple-camera setup, which caused some problems. Acomba also felt that there was a divide between himself and the producers, and chose to leave the project after finishing only a few scenes, including the cantina and Jefferson Starship. He was replaced by Steve Binder, whose only contact with Lucasfilm was a "Wookiee bible" detailing how the species should look and behave. Stan Winston was hired to design the Wookiee family.
The special was broadcast in its entirety in the United States only once, on Friday, November 17, 1978 (the week before Thanksgiving), on the television network CBS from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time (EST), preempting Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk leading to the latter shows' episodes slated to be aired that day to instead be shown a week later. It was also broadcast on the Canadian television network CTV from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time.
Segments All the acts are loosely linked together with material that involves the Wookiees' preparation for Life Day on Kashyyyk, Han and Chewie's attempt to bypass the Imperial blockade and make it to Chewie's family, and the Imperial garrison's search for rebels. The plot strings together a series of musical numbers, celebrity cameos and other variety-show acts. These include songs and comedy routines by such 1970s talents as Jefferson Starship, Diahann Carroll, Art Carney, Harvey Korman, and Bea Arthur, as well as a circus-style acrobatics routine including uneven bars and juggling. The most notable segment is an animated cartoon featuring the onscreen debut of Boba Fett.
Music Original music was composed for The Star Wars Holiday Special by Ken and Mitzie Welch, while Ian Fraser was brought in to adapt John Williams' orchestral themes from Star Wars. The special features four songs: "This Minute Now" is sung by Diahann Carroll. Carroll – who is supposed to be an image created by a virtual reality machine – tells Chewbacca's father, Itchy, that she is his "fantasy" and suggestively invites him to "experience" her.